Pasadena Girl Scouts Help The Homeless

Allison Petri and Kadence Falloni were among the troop members who organized personal toiletry bags for homeless women.

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Posted
Thursday, April 18, 2019 8:58 am

By Ally Fisher

On March 30, Girl Scout Junior Troop 63 of Pasadena joined forces with BKind of Glen Burnie to support the local homeless population. The girls, all fourth-graders at Jacobsville Elementary, have been working on a Girl Scout journey called Agent of Change. This teaches them how to help people in their own community by collecting donations and assembling and distributing bags with those items.

The girls learned about the need for women’s supplies such as razors, deodorant and sanitary items. Members of Troop 63 partnered with BKind, a donation-focused organization that pairs with churches and other groups once per week to help the homeless and people facing difficult times. BKind’s main focus is to help with the needs of people locally.

Troop co-leader Sarah Petri thought it was an amazing learning experience. “It’s an opportunity for the girls to think about and discuss things unique to women and to create a plan to help others in their community,” she said.

Kadence Falloni, a Girl Scout, helped introduce her troop to BKind’s initiative. She began by preparing brown bag lunches on her own for distribution. It was only a matter of time before her Girl Scout troop wanted to help too. Her grandparents then decided to connect with Monica Rost of BKind, who helped the girls learn about the needs of their community.

“I thought it was really cool how we worked together to make the bags and that a lot of our troop could make it on Saturday,” Falloni said. “I hope it inspires them to want to do it more often.”

Most of the girls were shocked to discover the amount of poverty that existed near their community. “I was really surprised to see so many people in need. I’m glad we got to help them,” said Girl Scout Allison Petri.

This is the troop’s fourth year. The girls are looking forward to serving their community again next year, as their goal is to earn their Bronze Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can receive.